Directed By: Joseph Ruben
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw, David Patrick Kelly, George Wendt
Genre: Drama/Science Fiction/Thriller/Horror
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Plot:
In order to diagnose the psychic traumas suffered by his patients, Dr. Paul Novotny gets young Alex Gardner to enter their dreams.
Review:
It’s a shame that 1984’s DREAMSCAPE isn’t as cool as the misleading poster that’s advertising the film. Instead of an INDIANA JONES romp with some horror elements implemented, DREAMSCAPE is pretty much a sci-fi drama that becomes a bit more political as the film moves forward. The film takes elements of movies before it, like SCANNERS and THE DEAD ZONE, while at the same time being a movie that probably inspired others that improved on its premise like INCEPTION or PAPRIKA. Hell, this isn’t even the best 1984 film involving nightmares or an evil person with claws!
Yes, the nightmares look pretty bad 40 years later due to the obvious green screen effects. Yes, the film has a lot of plot threads going on that don’t feel like they should connect or even feel important by the end of the film. And yes, the characters are pretty much archetypes without much depth. Most of them are even unlikable in several ways, including our main protagonist played by Dennis Quaid.
But you have to admire DREAMSCAPE’s ambition for trying to balance all of this out, even if it doesn’t fully reach its potential. Despite the not-so-great visual effects, the nightmare scenarios are still pretty cool to see realized. That Snakeman monster is just awesome looking and he should have had more of a presence throughout the movie. And the plot is intriguing enough to make you want to see how it’ll all end.
Plus, you can’t go wrong with that cast. Dennis Quaid is great as a smug jerk who later becomes heroic. Kate Capshaw, who gets more to do in THE TEMPLE OF DOOM the same year, isn’t bad as Quaid’s love interest. Having Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer, two masterclass actors, play against each other is wonderful. David Patrick Kelly brings some of that WARRIORS villainy in what should’ve been a bigger role. And George Wendt is here too!
DREAMSCAPE is a decent timewaster that’s worth a look if you want to see a film about nightmares in 1984 that wasn’t directed by Wes Craven. This one could probably use the remake treatment, although I feel like INCEPTION was pretty much the peak of these dream scenario movies.
SCORE
(6 out of 10)
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